Semi-final to 24: 115 million votes to be counted for 5 state polls

New Delhi, Mar 10: The big day is here and the country would find out who has come out as a winner in the elections that were held in the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa.

There are around 115 million votes for the 650 seats spread across the five states which will be counted. The polls are being seen as a semi-final in the lead up to the 2024 parliamentary elections in which the BJP would be seeking a third term.

Today's focus would be largely around Uttar Pradesh where The BJP would look to make history. If the BJP wins UP, it would be a feat by itself as no party has managed to complete a full term and retain power for the second term.

Punjab too would be an interesting battle considering the political turmoil it faced, following the ouster of Captain Amarinder Singh as the chief minister. Captain Singh went on to form a new party after quitting the Congress. The battle became interesting with the Aam Aadmi Party upping the ante. So far the AAP looks like it is ahead in the race and the exit polls too have indicated the same. If the AAP wins Punjab, it would get to rule its first full state and expand its footprint outside Delhi.

Counting of votes would begin at 8 am amidst COVID-19 protocols. In Uttar Pradesh, the Election Commission of India has implemented a three layered security to combat rumour mongering, beach of protocol and disinformation. All the strong rooms are under tight security and the inner cordon is being manned by the central forces. Apart from this there is 24/7 CCTV coverage of the strong rooms.